Jackie and Eric: An Alternate Journey
by xXxSomethingSpecialxXx
Summary: This story starts from Episode 4.02 Eric's Depression. It follows some of the basic plotlines of Season 4 with JackieEric twists along the way. What starts out as a mutual understanding may lead to friendship, or even something more.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

"Come on, Jackie. You never do anything for me." Kelso whined to his girlfriend.

"He's right, Jackie. You're being very selfish." Hyde chimed in from his usual seat in the basement, giving her his best smartass grin.

"Funland! Funland! Funland!" Fez began to chant. The other two guys quickly joined in.

"Would you all just shut up?" Jackie snapped, standing up. "I don't know what you expect me to do."

"Just talk to Eric, and convince him to come to Funland with us." Kelso explained. "He's just sitting up there and he could really use some fun."

"What makes you think I'll be able to get him to come?" Jackie asked, placing her hands on her hips. "We're not friends or anything. Plus, he just lost the love of his life, and you don't just bounce back from that."

"Come on, Jackie. You're a woman." Fez said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Use your soft compassion and kind words to bring him out of his depression."

Jackie shot him a glare.

"I was thinking more along the lines of you annoying him to death until he finally comes out of that room." Hyde suggested.

"Yeah, see Jackie's not much for the kind words. But being annoying is like her bread and butter." Kelso smiled.

"Michael!" Jackie yelled, elbowing him in the side.

"See, she's using her annoying voice right now." Kelso nodded.

"It's making me want to leave the room." Hyde agreed. "I think it will definitely work."

"I don't want to go up there!" Jackie protested. "He's probably crying. I don't do well with boys crying."

"Come on, Jackie. You're my girlfriend." Kelso whined again. "It's like your job to do my dirty work."

"No."

"You're going back on your girlfriendly duties." Kelso accused. "I fulfill all of my duties."

"You cheated on me, Michael!" Jackie yelled. "You don't buy me things, and we only ever do what you want to do! What duties are you possibly fulfilling?"

"I make you look good." Kelso offered, putting his arm around her. "Without me, you're just a pretty girl. Together, we're a power couple of gorgeousness."

"Fine." Jackie sighed, shaking her head. "I'll go up there and talk to him for five minutes. But that's it."

"That's all it would take me to be annoyed with you." Hyde offered.

"Aw, I feel a group hug coming on!" Fez grinned, holding out his arms to the other three.

"No thanks." Jackie said, heading for the stairs. "You guys better not leave without me."

"Do you think this is going to work?" Fez asked, once she had left the basement.

"Eric and Jackie hate each other." Kelso said, smiling. "He won't be able to stay in a room with her for more than five minutes."

"I give him two minutes tops." Hyde wagered.

* * *

Jackie Burkhart was nothing less than a loyal and determined girlfriend. In fact, it was her loyalty and determination that had her marching up the stairs that led to the second floor of the Forman house. She had never been upstairs before, and she couldn't help but feel slightly out of place.

Despite being on a mission, Jackie couldn't stop herself from glaring at the closed door of the room that belonged to Laurie. She frowned for a moment, thinking about what kind of things went on behind that closed door back when Michael was cheating on her. Shaking her head, she told herself to focus. The more time she spent thinking of Michael's infidelity, the more her loyalty and determination began to waver.

She was brought back to the mission at hand when she heard the sounds of the melancholy chords of Ritchie Valen's "Oh, Donna" blaring from behind the next door. Jackie slightly rolled her eyes at the image of Eric huddled under a bunch of blankets pouting over the redhead that he loved and lost. Truth be told, however, Jackie couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor guy. All he really wanted was to be with Donna forever, and that was a sentiment she could relate to. After all, what good was it to be in a relationship now if it wasn't going to last forever?

"Eric, open up." Jackie called, while pounding on the door. "I know you're in there. I can hear your pathetic music from downstairs!"

"Go away, Jackie!" Eric called back.

"I can't. I'm on a mission." Jackie said, continuing to knock. "If you don't open up, I'm coming in on my own."

"Fine." Eric groaned. "Come right in, make yourself at home."

"You should know by now that I'm totally immune to your sarcasm." Jackie huffed, walking into his room. "Wow, you look like hell."

"Always the little ray of sunshine, aren't you, Jackie?"

Jackie made a face at him in response to the insult. Then, she took a moment to look around the room. Eric was huddled under the covers listening to sad music. The room was a complete mess, and the curtains were closed. She felt a small pang of sympathy for Eric when she realized how much this scenario reminded her of herself after she found out that Michael had been cheating on her with Laurie. Shaking her head, she brought herself back to the right mindset.

"Ugh, you really need to get out of this room, Eric. It's starting to smell." Jackie said, crinkling her nose.

"All the more reason for you to leave." Eric said, getting out of bed to pull her towards the door.

"Oh my god. You're not wearing pants." Jackie said, making a face.

"It's called depression, Jackie. Work with me."

"Oh, ok. That reminds me of why I'm here." Jackie said abruptly. "Put on some pants, we're going to Funland."

"I told the guys already. I'm not going."

"And then Michael sent me here to change your mind." Jackie said, smiling.

"Why would he think you could do that?" Eric asked.

"Fez said that I could use my compassion and kind words to ease you out of your depression."

"Right…" Eric said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.

"Then, Michael and Steven said that if that didn't work, I could annoy you until you were forced to leave the room." Jackie explained, sitting cross-legged on Eric's bed. "So what should I do first: sing or talk about my hair?"

"God help me." Eric groaned. "I'm going to find my pants."

"Yay!" Jackie said, clapping her hands. "Michael's going to be so happy I saved the day."

While Jackie waited for Eric to clean up she started to look around at his disaster of a room. She raised an eyebrow when she saw GI Joe lying on the floor under the dresser.

"Let's go, Jackie." Eric sighed, unenthusiastically. "The sooner we get there, the sooner I can come back here."

"What happened to this poor guy?" Jackie asked, holding up the figure.

"I didn't want to look at him, because he was lonely and reminded me of me." Eric explained lamely. "God it just sounds so pathetic when I say it out loud."

"It's not your fault you're a girl in boy's clothing." Jackie smirked.

"As a cheer-up squad, you kind of suck." Eric said, snatching the GI Joe from her hands and sitting on the bed. "I would think that you, of all people, would be a little more understanding of a broken heart."

"I know." Jackie sighed, sitting on the very edge of the bed. "Loneliness is brutal. But there's one thing that's even more brutal."

"What's that?"

"Knowing that the person that you think that you could love forever doesn't love you just as much." Jackie admitted.

"I guess you do understand." Eric said, looking at her strangely.

"Look, lets not get all sentimental or anything." Jackie said, breaking the moment by standing up. "There's fun to be had at Funland."

"Oh yes, I'm expecting all kinds of fun." Eric said, sarcastically.

"Me too." Jackie responded, equally as sarcastic. "I can't wait until Michael gets lost and I get to spend the whole day looking for him."

"Does that really happen?" Eric asked.

"Every time." Jackie said with a small laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"So, let me get this straight…" Eric began while pulling into the Funland parking lot. "I'm depressed and alone, and I get stuck driving the Funland bus?"

"Come on, Eric. We're trying to help you here!" Kelso said. "And I think it's extremely selfish of you to not do things for us when we want to help you."

"Let's just get this over with as soon as possible." Eric sighed, parking.

"Ok. Before we go anywhere, let's get one thing straight, Michael." Jackie said sternly, facing her boyfriend. "What is the number one rule of Funland."

"Jackie Burkhart is prettier than the Funland Princess." Kelso said proudly.

"No, Michael. That's just a fact. The rule is…"

"Um, don't steal balloons from the little kids?" Kelso guessed.

"No, Michael! Rule number one is that we stick together!" Jackie snapped.

"Fine." Kelso grumbled. "We'll stick together. But I won't make any promises about the balloon thing."

"Ok, everyone out of the car! I want to go play games for candy!" Fez said, pushing Jackie and Kelso towards the car door.

"Come on, Forman, I know just what's going to cheer you up." Hyde began as everyone got out of the car. "We are going to spend the day trying to look up the Funland Princess's dress. Oh, and we'll load Fez up with candy and see how many rollercoaster rides it takes him to throw up."

"Last time it was five." Fez grinned proudly.

"That's disgusting." Jackie groaned, crinkling her nose. "Michael and I will be looking through the gift shops. I need a new pink feather boa."

"A new one?" Hyde asked, giving her a strange look.

"Boas are fun, Steven." Jackie returned, with a glare.

"Yes, they are." Fez agreed. "If I was a woman I would wear one every day."

"Well that's just… creepy." Eric said, with a slight laugh.

"Look, we've barely been here for three minutes and he's laughing already." Jackie said, clapping his back. "I'd say this was a job well done for Jackie Burkhart."

"And I'd say you are the best girlfriend ever, Jackie Burkhart!" Kelso cheered, picking her up in the air and twirling her around.

Eric watched as Kelso carried Jackie towards the park entrance. He could hear Jackie's delighted squeals as her boyfriend continued to sing her praises while spinning her in circles. For a moment, Eric almost envied them. From what Jackie had told him earlier, he knew that things weren't perfect between them. But even with all that had happened between them, they still had moments like this where everything seemed so simple. He couldn't remember a time when Donna had squealed at something he said, or wrapped her arms around his neck so willingly. He shook his head to clear all thoughts of Donna from his mind for just this one afternoon.

"Come on guys!" Jackie called to the remaining three boys from over Kelso's shoulder.

"Yes, I want to get myself a candy apple!" Fez said, running along after them.

"Come on, Forman." Hyde said, breaking him out of his thoughts. "This trip will get a lot more fun once Kelso disappears and Jackie freaks out."

Sure enough, no longer than twenty minutes into their trip, the group was short one member.

* * *

"Every single time this happens!" Jackie huffed, pacing like a caged animal. "Every time we come here I tell him the number one rule, and every time he disappears!"

"Come on, Jackie. You should know by now that Kelso doesn't do well with directions." Fez said, putting his hands on her shoulder to stop the pacing. "We should probably just split up and look for him."

"Do we have to?" Hyde groaned. "I'm sure he'll find his way back to the basement."

Jackie looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Ok, maybe not." Hyde admitted. "But I don't want to get buddied up with any of you people."

"Come on, Hyde." Fez pestered. "Kelso has been a good friend to us, and this is his time of need."

"Fine, I'll help." Hyde relented. "But I'm not pairing up with either of them."

"Then, I guess it's me and you, big guy!" Fez grinned, putting an arm around his friend. "We can show people his picture."

"Where are we going to get a picture of Kelso?" Hyde asked.

"Don't worry, I already have one." Fez said, leading him over to a group of people.

"What did I tell you?" Jackie asked, as she and Eric were left alone. "This is going to be a long day."

"I'm so glad I came." Eric returned sarcastically.

"Oh please, if you weren't here you'd just be sitting in your smelly room listening to depressing music." Jackie shot back.

"And instead, I get to have the pleasure of your company." Eric sighed.

"Look, the sooner you help me find Michael, the sooner you can get to your smelly room and go back to not wearing pants." Jackie said, with a shake of her head.

"Then, by all means, let's go." Eric groaned.

* * *

"Where is he, Eric?" Jackie pouted over an hour later. "We've been looking forever, and there aren't many places he could be."

"I don't get it. I mean, how can he be lost here? The whole place is just one big circle, and we have four people looking for him." Eric agreed.

"Well, this is Michael we're talking about." Jackie said as they continued to walk through the Funland attractions. "He's been known to glue himself to things. I don't see why our hopes are so high."

"Then, why are you with him?" Eric asked bluntly.

"What do you mean?"

"You want someone who will be able to take care of you. Kelso glues himself to things." Eric explained. "I'm not seeing the connection."

"When you love someone, you try to look past those things." Jackie shrugged.

"For now." Eric scoffed.

"Look." Jackie snapped, turning to face him. "Just because Donna broke up with you, you have no right to judge my relationship!"

"She didn't break up with me. I broke up with her!" Eric yelled back, causing a few people to turn and stare.

"Oh." Jackie said quietly, processing the information. "Why?"

"She—she gave me the ring back." Eric explained. "But there's more to it than that."

"I know." Jackie nodded, absentmindedly twisting her own ring. "She didn't want to make the promise."

"No, I guess she didn't." Eric agreed.

"I—I'm sorry." Jackie said in a voice so quiet he almost didn't recognize it.

"It's alright." Eric sighed. "I just don't know how I'm going to be able to be around her now."

"It's hard…" Jackie replied, remembering the awkwardness between her and Kelso. "But eventually you get used to it."

"I hope so."

"Look, Eric, I don't mean anything personal by this…" Jackie began, stopping for a moment. "But if it works out that we all need to choose between you and Donna, I have to choose her."

"Why?" Eric asked.

"Because you have Steven, Fez, and Michael to look out for you. Donna has me." Jackie explained, with a small smile. "She came to see me after I broke up with Michael, so I think I owe it to her."

"Are you actually thinking about someone other than yourself?" Eric asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's been known to happen." Jackie returned, sticking her tongue out. "Let's keep looking."

* * *

"I can't believe they kicked us out of Funland!" Fez huffed, eating his candy apple. "You would thing the fun never stops in Funland."

"What about Michael?" Jackie asked. "What's he going to do?"

"He's a big boy, Jackie." Hyde teased. "I'm sure he can manage to find his way back to Forman's."

"What if he can't?" Jackie asked, now getting nervous. "God, if you guys could have just been serious about looking and not spent your time going on rides and buying stuff, Michael could be here now!"

"Look who's talking!" Hyde snapped, gesturing towards her boa and shopping bag. "Seems like you took in quite the loot yourself."

"Shopping is how I calm myself down." Jackie defended.

"Come on, guys." Eric sighed from the driver's seat. "Let's just get back to the basement. I'm sure Kelso will get there eventually."

"Fine." Jackie sighed, buckling her seatbelt. "Let's go."

"Don't worry, Jackie." Fez assured her. "I'm sure Kelso will find a way to get himself back to us."

Jackie sighed, looking out the window as Eric drove back towards his house. She looked down at the promise ring on her finger. Like it or not, Eric had given her something to think about: Would Michael Kelso ever grow up?


	3. Chapter 3

Eric groaned as he sat in the basement watching a rerun of Hollywood Squares. It was official: whenever things went badly in his life, he always found a way to make them worse. It was bad enough that he was no longer with Donna, but now he had managed to drive both her and all the rest of their friends away. It would have been easy enough for him to just let her hang out in the basement like she had done for a countless number of years, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do that. So, he screwed himself over as usual, and now he was left all alone to think over what an idiot he could be sometimes.

Then there was Jackie… Lately, it had become even harder for Eric to wrap his mind around that girl. As of a few days ago, they were starting to form some kind of weird friendship. Ok, maybe friendship was too strong of a word… But at the very least, they were forming a common bond between them. She was being kind, but in an extremely Jackie-like way. He had found it unusual to interact with her in a way other than teasing or taunting, but it was a refreshing change. Then today, it seemed as though things came crashing back to normal. They had easily fallen back into the comfortable pattern of trying to hurt one another. He knew it was partially because of her loyalty to Donna. That was another thing that annoyed him: Jackie's loyalty. It was nice of her to feel a sort of loyalty to the only other girl in the group, but Eric couldn't help but feel like her loyalty was misplaced. There was part of him that wanted to tell Jackie all of the horrible things that Donna had ever said about her, but that would be childish. Eric was trying his hardest to not be childish this time.

Part of him wished that Donna would be a little more mature too. Getting cable and stealing his friends was a low blow on her part. And there was still another part of him that wondered why his friends didn't show the loyalty that Jackie had talked about towards him. She said that she was loyal to Donna because it was a girl-thing. Why couldn't Hyde, Kelso, and Fez stand by him? Hyde and Kelso had been enticed away by the prospect of full frontal nudity, and he'd finally lost Fez to the possibility of corn dogs. It seems that their loyalties towards him weren't quite as strong as their loyalties to their sex drives and their stomachs.

"Honey, what are you doing down here all by yourself?" The cheerful voice of his mother came floating down from the stairway.

"Mom, you know how I do that thing where I make all my bad situations worse…" Eric began. "Well let's just say I did that again."

"Oh, honey, what did you do?" Kitty sighed, taking the seat next to him.

"Well, me and the gang were hanging out down here like we always do, and then Donna came over and tried to act like nothing was wrong. So I told her she had to leave. And then she went and got cable, and stole all of my friends."

"Why would you kick Donna out, Eric?" Kitty asked.

"Because she came over here and was totally fine, Mom. I've been a mess ever since we've broken up, and I like to think of her feeling the same." Eric explained.

"Well, did you ever think that maybe she's having the same problem, Eric?"

"No." Eric admitted. "But I guess now we'll never know."

"Well, I say you go over there and try to talk to everyone." Kitty suggested. "You need to have friends, Eric. People with friends live longer. I was just telling your father that this afternoon."

"Wait. Dad has friends?" Eric asked, confused.

"Yes he does. Him and Pastor Dave are boyfriends now!" Kitty smiled, excitedly.

"Tell you what, Mom, I'm going to go over to Donna's now." Eric said, standing up.

"Good luck, Honey." Kitty smiled, watching him as he left.

"Thanks, Mom." Eric smiled, walking out the door.

"Oh, I just hope he doesn't screw this up more." Kitty sighed to herself as she started to empty the drier.

* * *

Jackie felt guilty. And that was a new feeling, because Jackie Burkhart rarely ever felt guilt. The boys were all intently focused on the television, hoping to catch a glimpse of a boob, but she couldn't help but look over at the door. Eric had just stopped over, and as usual, he managed to make a fool of himself. A big part of her knew that most of this was her fault.

The only reason she had burned him the second that she could, or even left with Donna, is because she thought that Donna would need her more. She didn't know that all the guys would follow her lead, and leave Eric all alone. And now she was fighting with Michael, which was not what she intended at all. The more time she spent trying to convince Michael that Eric was wrong and Donna was right, the more it seemed as though she was trying to convince herself. Sighing, she stood up and headed over to where Donna was standing.

"Well… That was awkward, wasn't it?" Jackie said, trying to lighten up the situation for Donna.

"That's Eric for you." Donna sighed. "If there's one thing he knows how to do well, it's making a situation as awkward as possible."

"So, why did you two break up anyways?" Jackie asked, curious to hear Donna's side of things. "It's just… you two seemed like the _perfect couple_, so I was wondering what finally ended things."

"The fact that he's an ass." Donna said, simply.

"You broke up with him for being an ass?" Jackie asked, getting confused.

"No. He broke up with me because he's an ass." Donna clarified. "It was all because of that damn promise ring. Just because I wouldn't wear it on my finger."

"Donna, it's more than that." Jackie explained, turning towards her friend. "A promise ring is a symbol of something huge and meaningful. He made you the promise that he wanted to be with you forever, and you wouldn't just accept that."

"Woah, calm down, Jackie." Donna said, giving her a strange look. "What side are you on, anyways?"

"I'm on yours, Donna. I just want to help you understand why he broke up with you."

"Who makes promises like that in high school, anyways? We're way too young to know who we want to be with forever." Donna huffed.

"No we're not." Jackie disagreed. "If you're with the person you're meant to be with, age shouldn't matter at all. I think you're hiding behind that, because you're just not sure what you want."

"Thank you for that brilliant diagnosis, Jackie." Donna replied, sarcastically. "Maybe you should just go be with Eric. You both have these unrealistic expectations of love."

"Forget it. I was just trying to help." Jackie said, shaking her head. "Why don't we just go watch some TV?"

"Ok." Donna agreed. "I'm sorry I'm so defensive about all this. It's just… I don't know how I'm supposed to act around everyone."

"It's ok. I know how that goes." Jackie smiled, as they took their seats on the couch.

"Hey there, hi there, ho there!" Bob called cheerfully as he came in the front door. "A funny thing just happened to me, Donna. I was outside with Eric, and he was telling me how much you kids love my jokes. So then I thought, there's no better time than now to come tell you these new ones I just heard!"

Everyone exchanged nervous looks as Donna put her head in her hands.

"Round two goes to Forman." Hyde mumbled under his breath.

* * *

Jackie sat uncomfortably wedged between Kelso and Fez in the Vista Cruiser, while the guys were all staring at the movie screen transfixed. She should have known that when Eric said he was taking them all to the movies, it would be a stupid guy-movie. It could have been worse though, at least it wasn't Star Wars. Plus, who brings a group of friends to the drive-in? Drive-ins are for making out with your boyfriend, and Jackie really didn't want to do that with all the guys around. 

Her guilt had started to fade, now that the gang took turns hanging out with both Eric and Donna. But that had opened up a bunch more weird feelings that came from hanging out with Eric and the guys when Donna wasn't around. It felt… wrong. She had spent so long wanting to be the only girl so all the guys would pay as much attention to her as they used to pay to Donna, but now that she had that, it was a weird situation. The reason Donna fit in so well was because she was practically one of the guys herself. Jackie just felt like an outsider.

"I'm going on a popcorn run. Who wants to come?" Eric asked.

None of the guys made a move to move their eyes from the movie screen.

"Alright then." Eric sighed, opening the car door.

"I'll go." Jackie said, glad for the escape route. She climbed over Michael, and scooted out the door to Eric.

"Wow, I didn't know you enjoyed my company so much." Eric teased.

"This movie is terrible." Jackie whined. "You should think of me more when picking movies for these group hang outs."

"Because no one is more important than Jackie Burkhart." Eric said, sarcastically.

"Now you're catching on." Jackie said with a grin. "Besides, Fez ate all my popcorn, so I need a refill."

"Oh." Eric nodded, and the pair walked all the way to the concessions stand in comfortable silence.

Once they picked up the food, they started heading back. Finally Eric broke the silence.

"Am I a horrible person?" Eric asked.

"What?" Jackie responded, a little taken aback by the question.

"Am I a horrible person for not wanting to hang out with Donna?" Eric explained.

"Eric…" Jackie began, unsure of what to say to him. "Let's sit down."

Eric raised an eyebrow at the thought of Jackie Burkhart offering to sit on the dirty ground to have a talk with him, but chose not to bring it up. Instead, he took a seat on the grass beside her.

"You're not a horrible person." Jackie assured him, while eating the popcorn. "You're just human."

"What do you mean?"

"Whether you want to admit it or not, Donna hurt you… badly." Jackie began. "It's only human to not want to be around her when she seems so happy."

"Why are you here?" Eric asked, suddenly. "I thought you said you have to side with Donna."

"Well… In the end, you're my friend too." Jackie answered quietly.

Eric didn't know how to respond to that. It wasn't often Jackie Burkhart said something that could be interpreted as a compliment, and he had been getting a lot lately.

"Well, thanks Jackie." Eric said, awkwardly.

"I don't know how Donna used to do this." Jackie confessed. "It feels so weird just hanging out with the guys."

"You'll get used to it." Eric shrugged.

"Or maybe you and Donna will work things out to where we can all go back to the basement." Jackie suggested. "It's making me and Michael fight a lot more, you know."

"More than usual?" Eric teased.

"Shut up." Jackie responded, swatting him. "Our relationship is growing. He loves me, Eric."

"I know." Eric replied. "And that's all we need sometimes."

"Exactly." Jackie nodded, looking up at him.

"Hey, we should probably head back before they start to wonder where we got to." Eric said, standing and offering his hand to pull her up.

"Yeah." Jackie agreed, shaking her head to get rid of the thoughts that had just run through her mind. "Let's go finish that crappy movie."

Eric laughed, as the two of them walked back to the Vista Cruiser.

* * *

"And, Fez, you sit on the drier. Okay. This new seating arrangement should really work." Eric said, looking around the room before taking his seat on the couch.

Jackie looked at him and smiled from her spot next to him on the couch. He had actually listened to her, and tried to fix his friendship with Donna. That made her feel like he actually took what she said and thought about it. It was a good feeling.

"It's great that everyone's in the basement, isn't it, Jackie?" Kelso whispered to her.

"Yeah." Jackie nodded.

"Are we done fighting?"

"Yes, Michael." Jackie said, with a small laugh.

"Why don't we go do it?" Kelso suggested to her in a loud whisper.

"No." Jackie said, rolling her eyes.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not in the mood." Jackie said, raising an eyebrow.

"But… I love you." Kelso said, in a cute tone, hoping it would make her do whatever he asked.

"You can't just say that every time you want me to do something." Jackie snapped. "It makes it lose its meaning."

They were interrupted by Bob rushing back into the basement.

"There you kids are. I think I finally remembered the punch line to the Italian midget joke." He said excitedly.

Quickly, everyone but Fez made their exits.


	4. Chapter 4

Eric stood in his bedroom and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He hated sport coats. In fact, he hated them almost as much as he hated awkward situations, which was another thing that was bound to occur momentarily. When his Mom told him that Midge left Bob, he felt really bad for Donna. But still, he really didn't want to go over there. How do you comfort the girl who broke your heart when you still aren't sure about where your feelings stand?

Things between them lately had being going pretty well. Minus a small standoff about the decorating of the basement, they had actually been getting along. Strangely enough, they had Jackie to thank for that. It still seemed foreign to him to think of Jackie as a nice person, but lately, she had been proving herself to be just that.

"Eric, honey!" Kitty called impatiently. "What is taking you so long up there?"

"Mom, I don't know if this is such a good idea." Eric sighed, trying to get out of it again.

"I told your Father to go talk to Bob, so now I'm telling you to go talk to Donna."

"Can't I just talk to Bob?" Eric asked, finally coming down the stairs.

"Now, honey, I promise you that talking to your ex-girlfriend can not be worse than a crying-Bob hug." Kitty assured him, straightening up his appearance. "You two used to be best friends, you can try that again."

"I guess you/re right." Eric mumbled, unconvinced. "I just see this ending badly."

"Most things with you usually do." Kitty mumbled under her breath so he couldn't hear.

"What?" Eric asked.

"Oh, nothing, sweetie." Kitty said, cheerfully. "Go be my brave little soldier."

Eric sighed once more before walking out into the backyard. Of course, as luck would have it, he was greeted by Kelso, Jackie, Hyde, and Fez.

"Aw, look at our little man in his sport coat!" Hyde called, teasingly.

"Eric, you look very dapper." Fez chimed in, sincerely.

"Shut up, guys." Eric shook his head. "I really don't want to do this."

"So, how is he supposed to make Donna feel better?" Kelso asked.

"The sight of his tiny little twig arms sticking out of that sport coat will make you forget even your biggest family traumas." Hyde grinned.

The boys all erupted into a fit of laughter at Eric's expense.

"Burn!" Kelso yelled, excitedly.

As he looked at the group, Eric could have sworn he saw Jackie give him a slight nod and a small smile. In his mind, it was her way of telling him he looked ok.

'_Thank you.' _He mouthed to her, confident that the others were too busy laughing to notice.

Straightening his sleeves one more time, Eric headed next door to meet his fate.

"Jackie, didn't you like me and Hyde's burn?" Kelso asked, noticing his girlfriend wasn't laughing.

"Oh yeah, Michael, it was hilarious." Jackie said sarcastically, though her sarcasm was totally lost on Kelso.

As the boys continued laughing, Jackie couldn't help but smile at the thought that she was able to influence Eric's decision for the second time in only a matter of weeks.

* * *

Eric stretched in Donna's bed once they had finished having sex for the second time that day. Donna had gotten up to go to the bathroom and get dressed again, and that left Eric to sit alone in her bed and think about what had just happened. One minute he was fidgeting with his uncomfortable suit coat while Donna shoveled casserole in her mouth, and the next, she had launched herself onto him. Before he knew it, they were naked in her bed, just as though no time had passed between them. And just like that, they were back together.

"Hey." Donna said awkwardly, standing in her doorway.

"Hey." Eric replied.

"You should probably put these back on." Donna suggested, tossing him his underwear.

"Yeah, I'm sure my Mom is wondering where I am." Eric nodded, not noticing how Donna refused to look anywhere but his eyes. "But I'll be back, and we can talk."

"Ok." Donna nodded slowly.

Eric struggled to put on the rest of his clothes, and decided to leave the sport coat off.

"It was the sport coat, wasn't it?" Eric asked with a grin.

"Oh yeah." Donna said sarcastically, allowing herself to give a small giggle.

As Eric walked out of Donna's bedroom and out of her front door, the only thing he could think of was how he couldn't wait to tell Hyde that he had gotten back together with Donna.

* * *

"Fez, do you really think that a tennis outfit is going to help you bag a hot older woman?" Hyde asked.

"Yes, yes I do." Fez nodded, swinging the racket around.

"Even I don't want to be a part of this train wreck." Hyde put his hands in the air, and sat down on the couch.

"So you really aren't going to come with us?" Kelso asked, disappointed.

"Nope." Hyde replied.

"Fine. More older ladies for us." Kelso grinned, high fiving Fez.

"Michael, why do you need to hit on older ladies?" Jackie spoke up from her chair. "You have a girlfriend, remember?"

"Well, you're my girlfriend because you are hot and young. I need to find a hot older lady to fill the void that Midge has left." Kelso explained.

"That makes no sense." Jackie shot back, clearly not amused.

"Yes it does." Kelso disagreed.

"No it doesn't." Jackie returned, in a more stern voice.

"You know, I don't have to listen to this right now." Kelso said, offended. "I'm going to the Piggly Wiggly."

"Fez, you better not let him do anything stupid." Jackie sighed, turning her attention to him.

"Come on, Jackie." Hyde interrupted from the couch. "Don't have the poor guy make a promise that's impossible to keep."

"To the Piggly Wiggly!" Fez yelled, as he and Kelso ran out of the basement.

"You know you really are no help." Jackie sighed, looking at Hyde.

"I never said I was trying to be." Hyde smirked, returning his attention to the TV.

Before Jackie could respond, the pair was interrupted by Eric bursting into the basement.

"Hey kids, good to see you!" Eric beamed, strutting into the room.

"What's gotten into you?" Jackie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I guess a little thing like getting back together with your old gal puts a spring in a man's step." Eric said loudly, continuing to smile.

"Wow." Jackie nodded, slightly taken aback. "You guys got back together? Did you talk things through?"

"Not exactly." Eric winked.

"Grunt things through?" Hyde suggested.

"Tell you what, that sounds like my cue to leave." Jackie interrupted, covering her ears as she walked out of the basement.

"Don't mind Little Miss Prude." Hyde shook his head as the door closed behind Jackie. "I'm gonna need some details."

"Oh, there will be details a-plenty in my steamy letter to Penthouse." Eric laughed.

* * *

"Hey, Donna?" Jackie called, knocking on her bedroom door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Donna replied, faking a smile when her friend walked through the door.

"No need to pretend to be ok with me." Jackie told her. "You slept with Eric, that shows that you aren't of sound mind."

"You know?" Donna yelled, embarrassed.

"I do now." Jackie grinned. "Oh, Donna, when are you going to learn that Jackie knows everything?"

"You sneaky little…" Donna trailed off, shaking her head at her friend's tactic.

"That is besides the point." Jackie shook her head, sitting next to Donna on the bed. "So, you guys did it?"

"Twice." Donna groaned, putting her head in her hands.

"Ugh." Jackie shook her head, making a disgusted noise.

"Hey, you are not allowed to make that noise considering you sleep with Michael Kelso." Donna returned, warningly.

"Fine, I take back my disgusted noise." Jackie said, putting her hands up. "So, now you guys are back together?"

"God, no!" Donna responded instantly. "All of the reasons we broke up are still there. I just needed someone, you know?"

Jackie nodded supportively.

"It's like I would have done it with anybody." Donna continued.

"Anybody?" Jackie replied, raising her eyebrow.

"Ok, maybe anybody is too strong of a word." Donna relented. "But, at that moment, the sex had no emotion with it."

"Well, I can think of someone who disagrees..." Jackie began, cautiously.

"Oh, God. Eric talked to you about this?" Donna asked, mortified.

"Well, not me in particular." Jackie clarified. "But he did come into the basement talking about how you guys are back together now."

"What am I going to do, Jackie?" Donna sighed.

"Do you want me to tell him?" Jackie offered.

"No offense, Jackie, but I think that might make things worse." Donna said. "You aren't the most tactful person I've ever met."

"I can have tact." Jackie defended. "I will go talk to Eric and be the most tactful person on the planet."

* * *

Jackie walked into the basement once again, to hear Eric singing his rendition of "My Way."

"Thank god." Hyde sighed. "I know it's the end of the world when I would actually rather listen to Jackie than Forman."

"I am going to ignore that." Jackie said, turning her attention to Eric. "Eric, we need to talk about you and Donna."

"Me and Donna, doesn't that just sound so good together?" Eric grinned, continuing to hum and sing.

"No, Eric, we seriously need to talk." Jackie tried again.

"Oh, I see what this is about…" Eric began, patronizingly.

"No, I'm pretty sure you don't." Jackie replied.

"Someday, Jackie, your relationship with Kelso will get to be like mine and—"

"Donna doesn't actually want to be back with you at all." Jackie blurted out. "There, I tried to be nice, but you wouldn't let me."

"Burn!" Hyde stood up, excited by the new turn of events. "I'm going to go to the Piggly Wiggly and tell Kelso and Fez about these new developments."

Once Hyde had left the room, Jackie turned back to Eric, who still hadn't said anything.

"Look, I'm sorry—" Jackie tried to apologize.

"Hold on." Eric interrupted her. "Now, what?"

"Donna didn't take you two sleeping together to mean that you guys are a couple again." Jackie explained, taking a seat with him on the couch. "She said she would have done it with anybody."

"Donna would never say that." Eric defended.

"Well, she did say that that wasn't really what she meant." Jackie corrected. "But she did definitely say that there were no emotions going along with the sex. She needed someone to comfort her, you know."

"No, I don't know." Eric snapped. "Because I would never use someone like that."

"Look, maybe you should have talked to her afterwards instead of running over here to brag about it to everyone." Jackie suggested.

"Don't you defend her!" Eric yelled, standing up. "I know you think that you need to be nice to her because she is the only other girl, but I've got a news flash for you: Donna never even liked you! She used to talk about you all of the time, and get mad when Kelso would want to include you in things!"

"Well, now you're just being a child!" Jackie yelled back, standing up too. "I thought we were starting to be friends or something and that my opinion mattered! And it certainly wasn't my opinion that you should go over there and have sex with her while she's upset about her mom leaving! And right now, it is my opinion that you should be over there helping Donna deal with everything instead of yelling at her, or taking all of your anger and embarrassment out on me!"

Unsure of what to say to that, Eric stormed out of the basement without another word.

* * *

Eric frowned as he helped Donna pack up her mom's clothing into boxes. He had come over to the Pinciotti house with the intent of yelling at Donna until she felt as bad as he did. But once he had seen how lost she was without her mother, he decided that all of the things that they needed to figure out could wait a little while longer.

"So, you must have been pretty mad to come all of the way over here." Donna sighed, as she folded up another sweater. "I hope Jackie wasn't too brutal."

"You sent Jackie over?" Eric asked, confused.

"Yeah, it's embarrassing, but I couldn't face you right away." Donna explained. "Jackie said she'd go over and talk to you. Was she mean about it?"

"She was _Jackie_ about it." Eric replied, with a small laugh. And Donna laughed too.

As the pair fell into a slightly more comfortable silence, Eric started to feel a little guilty about the way he had treated Jackie. She had only been trying to help the situation, and he had lashed out at her for no reason, other than the fact that he was embarrassed that Donna had told her something so personal.

"Hey, Eric…" Donna began, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Thank you for helping me, and for being understanding."

"No problem." Eric returned.

"I think I'm going to leave this packing for a while." Donna shrugged. "I'm going to go lie down for a while."

"Do you want any company?" Eric asked, in a jokingly seductive voice.

An awkward silence followed.

"Too soon?" Eric wondered.

"Yeah, you Dillhole." Donna said, shoving him. But Eric was happy to see a slight smile on her sad face.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok." Donna nodded, walking him to the door.

* * *

When Eric walked back into his backyard, he was surprised to see Jackie still sitting on his back porch.

"What are you still doing here?" Eric wondered.

"Trust me, I'd be gone if I could." Jackie sighed. "Michael took Fez to the Piggly Wiggly to hit on older women, and of course they haven't come back yet. So, I'm stuck here until he can tear himself away."

"Sitting out here all night is a more appealing option right now." Jackie snapped.

"You wound me with your words." Eric joked, putting a hand over his heart. "But I suppose I deserve that."

"Did you talk to Donna?" Jackie asked.

"Not really. I decided that now wasn't the time to confuse her with our relationship." Eric explained. "We'll figure it out when she's ready."

"That was a good decision." Jackie nodded.

"A wise person told me that that's what I should do." Eric shrugged, sitting next to her on the porch.

"You're lucky flattery gets you somewhere with me." Jackie smirked, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Eric asked, confused.

"Well, are you giving me a ride home, or what?" Jackie wondered, smiling slightly. "Don't get me wrong, you aren't off the hook yet. But, Jackie Burkhart doesn't walk, and she certainly doesn't wait around all night for Michael Kelso."

"Jackie Burkhart sure is something." Eric laughed, shaking his head as they walked over to the Vista Cruiser.

Once they were seated inside of the car, Eric looked over and noticed Jackie still looked unsettled.

"By the way, I didn't mean what I said earlier about Donna." Eric lied. "I just wanted to upset you. But Donna really does like having you as a friend."

Jackie brightened up considerably once he said that, and Eric realized that maybe he had made a good decision by lying.

"Ugh, Eric, your taste in music is terrible." Jackie said, making a face as she fiddled with the radio knobs.

Eric chuckled slightly to himself as he realized that for once he had managed to fix not one, but two situations without making them worse. Maybe things finally were looking up for him.


	5. Chapter 5

_Note: I am SO SORRY about how sporadic this story has been updated. It started as an idea that I didn't really have time to work on. I rediscovered it on my computer the other day, and decided to open it again. I promise to try to keep my updates more frequent (every other week or so.) A sincere thank you for anyone who continues to read this story after all this time. I will try to make it worth your while!_

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

Eric squinted in the dim light of his bedroom as he tried to read what was left of Connie's phone number on his palm. He knew from the beginning that going to the Pricemart Ball would be nothing but trouble. Clearly he and Donna were still far from the place where they could be friends. In fact, that was the main reason he hadn't wanted to go to the dance with her in the first place. Neither of them were very good at being mature lately, so it seemed. He was interrupted by the sound of loud knocking on his door.

"Hey, Eric? Are you wearing pants this time?" A female voice called from the hallway.

"Jackie?" Eric asked, confused. "What the hell are you doing up here?"

"Michael and your mom told me that the phone number you got last night is smudged." Jackie yelled in. "I'm good at reading other people's writing. I thought I'd come up and take a crack at it... But only if you're wearing pants."

"Yeah, I'm dressed." Eric assured her. "But I don't know if you'll be able to-"

"Oh, stop with the excuses already." Jackie huffed, breezing into the room. "You've been whining about moving on for the past few weeks. Don't chicken out on me now."

Eric opened his mouth to protest, but closed it quickly unsure of what to say.

"So, Pricemart Ball, huh?" Jackie smirked, sitting next to him and grabbing his hand. "Sounds like an incredibly lame place to meet someone."

"You have no idea." Eric laughed. "Bad music, bad shrimp, drunk mom, and the most awkward non-date I could ever have imagined."

"Sounds terrible." Jackie replied. "I'm almost sorry I missed it."

"Yeah, I should have just taken you." Eric shrugged, still laughing slightly.

The comment hung in the air for a moment, and an awkward silence settled between them. Jackie dropped her eyes down to his palm, and Eric could have sworn he saw a slight blush settle over her cheeks.

"Yeah, well, I do have a dress for every occasion." Jackie finally spoke up, though she still didn't lift her eyes. "But I'm sure Donna enjoyed herself."

"Oh yeah, she was fine when she was hitting on guys near the bathroom." Eric grumbled. "But the second one cute blonde gives me her phone number, she goes all crazy and licks my hand."

"Licks your hand?" Jackie frowned, looking at the hand she was touching in disgust. "Ew!"

"Yeah, that's why I'm in this current dilemma." Eric sighed, gesturing to the hand she was studying intently.

"Oh wow, Michael was right!" Jackie laughed, pointing to a spot on his palm. "I totally see the ampersand."

"Well, you've been terribly helpful." Eric groaned, snatching his hand back. "I guess Connie from Cheboygan is a lost cause."

"Stop pouting." Jackie teased. "This was the first step. I'm sure there will be more Connies out there to piss Donna off."

"Wow, that sounded vaguely nice." Eric said, looking at her strangely.

"Don't get used to it." Jackie returned, standing up. "When you're done looking at that blotch on your hand, you should come down to the basement. Fez got fired from the Fotohut, and if I have to hear one more photography pun I may go insane. You know Michael, he just encourages it."

"Yeah, I'll probably give up soon." Eric called after her, watching for a moment as she left his room and bounced down the stairs.

* * *

The following week, the majority of the gang sat around a table at The Hub reading Donna's story in the school paper.

"I cannot believe Donna wrote this!" Eric yelled, slamming his copy of the school paper down on the table.

"Sh, Eric!" Jackie protested. "I'm still on the part where you killed her cat."

"Jackie! I haven't gotten there yet!" Kelso frowned, shushing her. "I only just got to the part with the chastity belt."

"Read faster, Michael!" Jackie snapped back. "Plus, shouldn't you be out buying me that dress you promised?"

"Damn, Jackie!" Kelso huffed. "At least let me finish reading about what a dill hole Eric is."

"Guys, what are you even talking about?" Fez chimed in. "This story is about Wanda and Derrick. Two young lovers who find out they are completely wrong for each other. What does that have to do with Eric?"

"I'll explain later." Hyde promised his friend, without looking up from his copy of the paper.

"Oh, no!" Jackie gasped, completely engrossed in the story. "Not Playboys! Derrick, how could you?"

"Jackie, teenage boys have needs." Eric defended. "Some of us choose to look at pictures of naked women instead of doing it behind the gym with Pam Macy."

"Eric!" Kelso yelled, swatting at him. "At least I never killed anyone's cat."

Donna walked into The Hub, and smiled when she saw all of her friends gathered around, reading her story.

"Hey, guys!" She called, brightly. "What do you think?"

"I love it." Hyde grinned. "Not only is it well-written, but it makes Forman look like a complete ass."

"Yeah, Donna, real mature." Eric snapped, from his seat.

"Oh, stop it guys." Donna frowned. "I just did what writers do. I pulled from my own experiences, and added some creative touches."

"What you call creative touches, I call lies!" Eric returned. "I know you never want me moving on, but you didn't have to make me look like a total bastard so I'm completely un-dateable to women."

As Eric and Donna launched in to yet another fight, they barely noticed all of their other friends getting up and leaving the restaurant.

* * *

"I need a Medieval word for bitch." Eric frowned, looking down at the paper.

"I'm pretty sure _bitch_ would work just fine." Hyde answered, as his eyes never left the tv. "Are you really writing a second story just to piss off Donna?"

"I still don't get it!" Fez whined from his seat in the basement. "Hyde, you promised to explain it to me."

"Forman is writing a follow-up story for the sake of being a vindictive ass." Hyde shrugged. "This is only going to get him in more trouble than he's already in, which means more entertainment for us."

"Ooh! What if Derrick gets a new love interest at the end of my story." Eric suggested, completely oblivious to the conversation going on around him. "One that's much hotter than Wanda."

"They call it fantasy for a reason." Hyde smirked, standing up. "Fez, let's get out of here. Do you think Kelso is still trying to peddle Jackie so people use his stupid pinball machine?"

"I hope so." Fez grinned, and the two sprinted out the door leaving Eric behind.

"... and as Wanda repeated that they weren't currently courting, Derrick caught the eye of another beautiful maiden across the way." Eric mumbled aloud as he wrote.

Jackie stormed into the basement, slamming the door behind her.

"So, instead of buying me a dress with my fifty dollars, Michael bought into that stupid pinball machine." Jackie pouted, sinking onto the couch next to him.

"You really thought he was buying you a dress?" Eric asked, slightly amused.

"Shut up. A girl can dream." Jackie returned. "Ugh, I'm so never seeing that money again."

"No. No you're not." Eric answered. "But at least he didn't write a story where he portrayed you as a cat-killing porn freak. Which is why I'm writing a story, too."

"Oh, God." Jackie groaned, trying to read over his shoulder. "This isn't going to end well."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Eric wondered aloud.

"History tells us so." Jackie shrugged, then remembered why she came. "Oh, where are your magic markers? Michael sent me so we can make flyers for the pinball machine."

"And you really think that's going to end well?" Eric asked, incredulously.

"I'm cautiously optimistic?" Jackie shrugged.

"Then, me too." Eric answered. "Magic markers are over on the bookshelf."

"Thanks!" Jackie smiled, hopping up off the couch. "Oh, you know what would make your story better?"

"What?"

"Put me in it." Jackie grinned, grabbing the markers and walking out the door.

* * *

Three days and two completed short stories later, the whole gang was gathered around a table at The Hub.

"So, thanks to you two, the school paper has completely banned short stories." Hyde informed the group. "Now we never have to read another lame attempt again. So, sincerely, thank you,"

"Hey, my story was perfectly fine." Donna defended. "Defensive dill hole over here had to go ruin it for everyone."

"Hey!" Hyde snapped, raising his arms. "When I said I'm so over the fighting, I meant it. So from now on, zip it or take it outside."

"Hey, don't look at us." Eric stepped in, gesturing towards himself and Donna. "Wanda and Derrick have reached a temporary cease-fire."

"Oh, we've heard that story before." Hyde said, growing increasingly bored with the conversation.

"Let's play Space Invaders!" Fez suggested, pointing over towards his machine.

"I still can't believe they got rid of my pinball machine." Kelso frowned.

"So in latest news, my dad got himself a new lady-friend." Donna announced.

"Is she hot like Midge?" Hyde asked, suddenly interested in the turn in the conversation.

"Nah, she's kind of the anti-Midge." Donna answered. "All into women's equality and baggy clothes and all that."

"Then why would we care?" Kelso asked, raising an eyebrow. "If she's not going to be jumping rope in tight sweaters, she's practically invisible to me."

"Michael, stop it." Jackie pouted, swatting him.

"What?" Michael shrugged. "I miss Midge's rack. And I'm not ashamed of that. So unless Donna's new mom is hot like Midge, I could care less."

"Nice." Donna replied, offended. "But I don't think they're together like that. I think she's just helping him cook and stuff since he's so broken up over my mom."

"I'm going to play Space Invaders!" Fez announced again, louder this time.

This time Hyde and Kelso followed him over to the machine.

"And after all that they got rid of Michael's pinball machine." Jackie frowned. "Can you believe I'll never get my fifty dollars back?"

"Yes." Donna and Eric replied in unison.

"Since when do you two agree on things?" Jackie sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Since they involve Kelso being a dillhole, and you being clueless and blinded by your feelings for him." Donna teased.

"Shut up, Lumberjack." Jackie mumbled under her breath.

The pair started to giggle, which eventually turned into loud laughter. Eric looked between the two girls, and couldn't help but start laughing as well.

"That's the sequel to your stories." Jackie said between her laughter. "Beautiful Princess Jackie, and her friend the pretty, yet gigantic, Lumberjack!"

"That Lumberjack thing is totally not funny anymore." Donna argued, though she couldn't manage to stop her laughing.

"I personally like Wanda and the naughty wenches better." Eric spoke up from his seat at the table.

"Shut up, you pervert!" Donna laughed, swatting him.

"Well, I've got to go." Jackie announced, standing up and putting on her coat. "You two keep trying not to kill each other."

Jackie yelled for Kelso, and ignored his mumbling as he left the rest of the gang to walk her home.

"She seems different." Donna observed, looking after her strangely. "Nicer, maybe?"

"I hadn't noticed." Eric lied, shrugging. "So, about those wenches..."


End file.
